Chuck Sweeny: Bill Daley promises to be hands-on’ governor

He’s a son of the political boss of all bosses, the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, and a brother of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Chuck Sweeny

He’s a son of the political boss of all bosses, the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, and a brother of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

He worked in the White House for President Bill Clinton, first as NAFTA trade czar, then as secretary of commerce. More recently, he was President Barack Obama’s chief of staff.

Bill Daley is also a successful businessman. In his first bid for elective office, he wants to upend Gov. Pat Quinn in the 2014 Democratic primary, then go on to beat the Republican nominee and govern one of the most fiscally troubled states in the union. His resume is formidable, but he’s not well-known outside Chicagoland.

“Obviously, many people don’t know who Bill Daley is,” he said when we talked by phone as he sped from Peoria to Rock Island on a campaign swing. “But people are fair. They’ll listen. I’ve got to convince them that I can bring my experience of being in the private sector, secretary of commerce, chief of staff, to help the people of Illinois.”

Daley seemed alarmed at the economic and fiscal condition of the state, mincing no words.

“The state is stumbling around. We have the second-highest unemployment in the nation next to Nevada. Certain counties like Winnebago have almost 10 percent unemployment. Job growth has been anemic compared to our neighbor states.”

I asked him, only partially joking, what party’s nomination he was seeking, because his critique sounded similar to what Republican candidates for governor are saying. Democrats have controlled the governorship and both the House and Senate since 2003.

Daley laughed.

“I’m a Democrat and proud of it. I haven’t been part of ‘Springfield’ for 30 years, and I will take a fresh look at the system.”

Daley emphasized a need for a hands-on governor who actively pushes his agenda through the Legislature. He says Quinn is too hands-off. On the pension crisis, for instance, Daley said he “called on the governor to bring the four leaders and eight conference members to the table and solve the pension crisis. The Legislature left three months ago. The kids are back to school, and we’re no closer to a solution.”

We talked about complaints by businesses that their taxes are too high and they’re regulated too much.

“Our corporate tax doesn’t raise that much money compared to other states and other taxes. The biggest complaint I get from business is that they can’t get an answer from the regulatory agencies. That’s just BS. We’ve got to get people in the regulatory agencies to understand that time is money for these businesses.”

How would Daley go about selling Illinois to out-of-state and international businesses?

“Because I’ve been in the private sector and gotten to know people around country and world, I have a lot of credibility with businesses and governments around the world. I spent time on the Boeing board for a while. How do we grow the aerospace industry in Illinois, for example? We look at five years down the road, sitting down with the companies and trying to get people to invest in the jobs that are going to be needed then.”